Pinson Valley WR and A-lister Earnest Robinson, who committed to Auburn in February said that coaches from other schools have begun picking up their recruitment of him in the last week following Auburn's loss to Mississippi State.

"Everything has been going good, but it gets out of hand sometimes, all the coaches that are calling me," Robinson said. "Auburn has lost a couple of games and coaches start calling me and telling me, 'don't go to Auburn'."

Robinson specifically mentioned Alabama assistant Mike Groh, who the elite receiver said focused more on Auburn than on Alabama during a recent phone conversation.

Despite the influx of attention, Robinson said he remains firmly committed to the Tigers, regardless of their performance on the field in 2012.

Junior prospects including in-state linebackers Tre' Williams and Shaun Dion Hamilton, two of Georgia's top juniors in cornerback Wesley Green and linebacker Bryson Allen-Williams, and quarterback Justice Hansen, who is coming all the way from Edmund, Oklahoma."

Another visitor expected to make a long trip on Saturday is 4-star defensive end and Auburn commit Tashawn Bower. The New Jersey native committed to the Tigers over the summer and is traveling to the Plains for his official visit. Despite his commitment to the Tigers, this weekend will be Bower's first game at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Along with Bower, Auburn will be hosting several other currently committed prospects including Auburn High School star Reuben Foster and Carver-Montgomery quarterback Jeremy Johnson, who will be coming fresh off of their Friday night showdown in Auburn. McGill-Toolen quarterback Jason Smith, Pinson Valley receiver Earnest Robinson and Huntsville linebacker Cameron Toney are also expected to attend.

Johnson, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound quarterback rated a four-star prospect by all four major services, finished 9-of-15 passing for 233 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for nine carries for 117 yards and three more touchdowns. His dominant effort helped lead the way for a 46-20 victory for Carver.

"He was pretty confident," said Carver-Montgomery head coach Billy Gresham following the game. "He came out tonight and played well. He's a three-year starter for us so he's played in big games against good players. He did a great job of staying composed and making the right plays for us."

The Alabama Crimson Tide are looking to fill their few remaining spots in the 2013 recruiting class and one of the top candidates for that spot is Florida offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil. Rated as the nation's top offensive tackle prospect, Tunsil currently lists the Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs as his top two schools but with a decision not expected until National Signing Day in February, Nick Saban and his staff are likely in for a tough battle to land this elite lineman.

Tunsil, who is close friends with recent Alabama commit Derrick Henry, expects to take his five official visits after the end of his senior football season with Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, and USC all expected to receive visits according to 247Sports.

Bulldog commit Tray Matthews visited the game to root on Johnson and Foster, both of whom he has befriended after numerous run-ins on the recruiting circuit.

Matthews, a four-star safety prospect out of Newnan, Georgia, has been committed to UGA since August but continues to have contact with other schools, including the Auburn Tigers.

Trey Johnson, the 4-star linebacker who is committed to Auburn, will likely decide after this weekend if he will take his fifth and final official visit to Florida.

Johnson, who is considered by many to be the state’s best senior linebacker after Reuben Foster transferred last spring, will go through the entire recruiting process and all of his visits — despite being committed to Auburn for 15 months.

“He just wants to make sure about everything; this is the only time he gets to control anything,” Central Gwinnett coach Todd Wofford told the AJC. “He knows college football is a business from his relationship with (Ted Roof, who resigned as Auburn’s defensive coordinator last December).

“After seeing other coaches take other jobs or get fired, this is a chance for Trey to double-check everything and make sure. It’s a chance for Trey and his family to make sure everything is where it needs to be and where he wants to be.”

"I'm still solid. I don't care if they go 1-8, 1-9. I'm still 100 percent committed to Auburn," Toney said on Smashmouth Radio.

"They talk about more than just football," Toney said. "It's a family thing and they made sure I was on top of my game with my grades and they asked me how my family was doing. The one thing I like about that coaching staff down there is they're all about family, not just football."

"Auburn as a school, they're very high on academics and they're very great at a lot of things. I want to major in engineering and Auburn is the top notch for engineers."

"Seeing them hurt, it hurts me myself. I've talked to a couple (current players) and it's a struggle for them this year, especially the defensive side with Coach Van Gorder coming in. It's very tough with his defensive scheme and it's going to take them a while to pick it up. If they keep working hard, they'll get back to the team they were."

"Coaches aren't calling me telling me to talk about how Auburn's season is going but Tennessee is still calling me and still wanting me. Like I said earlier, I'm 100 percent Auburn. That's the best school for me."

"This recruiting class that we have now is a bunch of leaders. I think as freshmen coming up a lot of guys are going to step up and become leaders."

“I’m still committed to Auburn; it’s all good,” Jackson told the AJC on Sunday. “I feel good about how everything was handled with this situation. I still like Auburn.”

Here’s what happened: Jackson had heard rumors for a week from other recruits, a student at Auburn, and a parent of one of his Lovejoy teammates that he had “lost” his scholarship at Auburn due to grades.

Even though Jackson had not spoken directly with Auburn’s coaches, Jackson was convinced enough by his sources that he de-committed to the Tigers.

Then he spoke directly a few hours later to Auburn’s coaches, master recruiter Trooper Taylor and head coach Gene Chizik.

“I got a call from Coach Trooper, and he confirmed it wasn’t true,” Jackson told the AJC. “He said I was still one of their main targets, that they still have high interest in me, and they don’t want me to go anywhere else. He said don’t listen to the rumors, stick with us, and if I have any problems to call and we’ll talk about it.

“Coach Chizik basically said the same things, but in a different way. He said he would love to have me as a kid and an athlete. He said he would never take my scholarship away.”

What about Auburn’s first 1-6 start in 60 years? “It’s not a good start, and everybody knows that. I’m disappointed, but at the same time I’m glad I can go there next year and help them get things turned back around.”

While Jackson remains committed to Auburn, he still plans to definitely take an official visit to Florida State and may also tour Tennessee, Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

Smith accounted four seven touchdowns, four rushing and three passing, in a 50-21 victory over rival Murphy.

Foster, one of the nation's top linebacker prospects, continued to moonlight as a running back and scored three touchdowns.

Alabama fans can also look to the play of Fultondale athlete ArDarius Stewart, who continued his strong season season by scoring five touchdowns.

Dee Liner, Muscle Shoals, DL: The Auburn commitment tipped and intercepted a pass behind the line of scrimmage, deflected a punt and had at least a handful of touchbacks as a kickoff specialist in the top-ranked Trojans' win versus Cullman.

Also, D.J. Johnson, Spanish Fort, WR: The star receiver did not play after two arrests last month for rape.

Five-star Tuscaloosa running back Bo Scarbrough, who committed to the Tide in early September, traveled to Baton Rouge for an unofficial recruiting visit but encountered some complications when he arrived at the game.

"I signed up for tickets online, and they sent me an email telling me I had been approved for three tickets," Scarbrough said in an interview with BamaOnline. "But when I got there, they didn't have a ticket for me. They said my name wasn't on the list. They told me to come back five minutes before the game."

Scarbrough said the issue was eventually cleared up but not in time for him to participate in the traditional meet and greet session with the LSU coaching staff before the game.

"I got in right before kickoff, so I didn't get to talk to anyone," he said. "After the game, I just waited and nobody came so I just left. I wanted to meet [the LSU coaches] and talk to them at least. I was kind of disappointed."

Scarbrough said it was unlikely he would visit LSU again.

The 6-foot, 220-pound running back also confirmed that he remains "100 percent" committed to Alabama...

In the 247Composite index, an average of all four services, Alabama's class of 19 committed players is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation with Auburn's group of 18 commitments not far behind at No. 7.

We'll take a look at which position groups on each team will be getting immediate help, which groups are preparing to build for the future, and which groups are still in dire need of some additional talent.

Running Backs

Many believed before the season that the Crimson Tide had created a logjam at the running back position with too many talented players to keep everyone happy. Several injuries later, the Tide looks like it could use even more depth in the running back corps and Nick Saban and his staff appear slated to bring in reinforcements. Five-star Derrick Henry is on schedule to break the national high school career rushing yard record this season, though some believe he is too big to play the running back position at the college level. Little Rock four-star Altee Tenpenny is the prototype Alabama running back prospect while Georgia star Tyren Jones [knee] is the kind of versatile playmaker that could spice things up in the Alabama backfield.

Meyer was spotted at Central Gwinnett High School on Friday checking on LB Trey Johnson, who is committed to Auburn. Meyer stayed at the school for nearly two hours. “It went great,” Central Gwinnett coach Todd Wofford told the AJC. “Ohio State is coming all-out after Trey to get him. They don’t have any linebackers committed right now, and that’s a priority position for them. They’re undefeated, and they’re going to win every year and always be in the BCS picture. That’s really appealing to Trey, and (Meyer’s) record speaks for itself. He’s a top-notch guy.”

JaQuay Williams, the state’s No. 1 prospect at WR last year, will take official visits to UGA and Texas A&M over the next two weekends.

The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder from Sandy Creek signed with Auburn last February but fell just short of NCAA requirements. Williams is spending this fall at Virginia’s Fork Union prep school and is planning on enrolling at a four-year college in January.

Williams is still officially listed as an Auburn commitment, but – like many other recruits pledged to Tigers – still looking at other colleges due to speculation over Gene Chizik’s future...

Ole Miss Rebels continued their recent trend of recruiting surprises under head coach Hugh Freeze this week by landing the commitment of Hargrave Military offensive tackle Brandon Hill, who signed with Alabama in February, according to multiple recruiting sites. Hill, a 6-foot-6, 370-pound tackle committed to the Rebels while taking an official visit in Oxford on Friday.

Hill, who signed with the Crimson Tide out of high school, failed to meet NCAA academic eligibility standards and enrolled at Hargrave in August with hopes of regaining his eligibility and returning to Alabama in January.

"We're hopeful that he's so close to qualifying, that he will be able to qualify in one semester and hopefully join us in January," Nick Saban said in August regarding Hill. "That's our plan, and that's what we'd like to do for him."

Dee Liner, Muscle Shoals, DL: The Auburn commit had two tackles, including one for a loss, while being double-teamed all night in a 22-21 victory over Pinson Valley.

Jason Smith, McGill-Toolen, QB: The Auburn commit finished his high school career with 15 carries for 122 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 29-28, overtime loss to Auburn.

Bradley Bozeman, Handley, OL: The beefy lineman, who has committed to Alabama, suffered a torn knee ligament during the Sept. 22 victory over Bullock County and missed the rest of the season.

Cam Toney, Huntsville, LB: The Auburn commit started in Huntsville's 9-0 season-ending loss to Vestavia Hills, helping lead a defense that allowed only 170 yards of total offense.

D.J. Johnson, Spanish Fort, WR: The star receiver did not play after the first few weeks of the season after being arrested and charged in two separate rape cases in Baldwin County. Alabama reportedly rescinded its scholarship offer.

Rod from Dadeville Crayton, DL: The 300-pound defensive lineman finished with 18 tackles in a 38-24 loss to UMS-Wright in the Class 4A playoffs, this according to the Dadeville coaching staff. He also forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.

Saban began constructing his list of priorities for his sixth full recruiting class at Alabama. It was becoming difficult to find a spot on the Crimson Tide's roster that was in desperate need of an infusion of young talent.

Saban and his staff has been about finding the best available players at any position from just about anywhere in the country.

As NFL Draft projections begin to take shape, the possibility of Alabama losing multiple underclassmen to the draft seems more and more likely.

Foremost among the Tide's potential early entrants is cornerback Dee Milliner, the highest-rated draft-eligible defensive back and the No. 11 overall prospect according to ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr.

Saban made news during his weekly radio show last week when he mentioned that he expects offensive tackle D.J. Fluker to enter the draft in January as well.

While C.J. Mosley and Eddie Lacy are both listed among the top five junior prospects at their respective positions, neither appears to be a likely candidate for early entry into the draft, giving the Tide a little breathing room when it comes to recruiting inside linebackers and running backs. Despite that, the Tide is hoping to sign all three of its current running back commits in February, including five-star Derrick Henry and four-stars Altee Tenpenny and Tyren Jones.

Mullen has a hard time believing the Egg Bowl drastically effects either team’s efforts on the recruiting trail.

“If this game had everything to do with the recruiting then I guess we would have gotten every kid the last three years,” said Mullen, who is undefeated with a 3-0 record against Ole Miss. “And I guess they would have gotten every kid the year I got here.”

“A lot of guys know what they’re looking for in a school,” Mullen said. “ ... So I don’t know that the outcome of this game always determines that.”

Once Chizik and his newly assembled staff, including ace recruiters Trooper Taylor and Curtis Luper, got their chance at a full recruiting cycle, Alabama's unquestioned dominance in the state was over. The Tigers were still out-paced overall by the Tide in 2010 but were able to sign in-state stars LaDarious Owens, Craig Sanders and Kenneth Carter, all of whom were consensus four-star prospects and all of whom have become significant contributors on the Auburn defense.

In 2011, Chizik and his staff finally made it clear that in-state dominance on the recruiting trail was a truly attainable goal for the Tigers. By landing the signatures of Erique Florence, Reese Dismukes and Jonathan Rose, Auburn matched the Tide blow for blow on the state's blue-chip prospects, even forcing Alabama to fight right down to the wire to land running back Brent Calloway to go along with four-star receivers Marvin Shinn and Danny Woodson Jr.

One month removed from winning a national title and having shown that they were every bit the recruiting equal of the mighty Crimson Tide, Chizik and his staff entered the 2012 recruiting cycle with plenty of optimism. But Nick Saban and his staff of masterful recruiters answered the challenge from across the state and in a deep class of talent that saw 13 prospects from the state earn ratings of 4-stars or better, Alabama landed five to Auburn's two, thanks in part to another late move by Alabama to flip Daphne running back T.J. Yeldon away from his commitment to the Tigers and over to the Tide.

TE AJ Jackson, who is committed to Auburn, got an official scholarship offer from Florida State this week and will take an unofficial visit with the Seminoles this weekend. The Lovejoy standout is traveling down there with his good friend, DE Davin Bellamy, the Chamblee DE who is committed to FSU. Tucker WR Juwaan Williams will also make an unofficial to FSU this weekend.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder from Sandy Creek High School took an official visit to UGA this weekend.

“Texas A&M, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi State are on the current list,” said Kevin Ofchus, his uncle and legal guardian. “And Auburn is still in the mix.”

“Like a lot of kids, we’re just waiting to see how things pan out with which specific coach it is (hired at Auburn). Until things get figured out over there, Ja’Quay needs to do his due diligence and research where he wants to go.”

Goldberg: Thigpen still on recruiting trail, telling players to stick with Auburn

Thigpen may not have a job come Monday or Tuesday, but he has one now, and he's out selling Auburn.

The Tigers' assistant coach, in limbo but still on the payroll since Gene Chizik was fired last Sunday, is visiting recruits and committed players this weekend, reminding them they committed to the school, not the coaches.

Thigpen said Friday: "I'm telling them that Auburn is still a heck of a place. I still think it's one of the Top 5 places to play football.

"The bottom line is to get the kids to stick with Auburn."

Taylor and Luper are on the road again after Auburn restricted their recruiting in the middle of the season. Two players have de-committed. Seventeen others are still on board.

"They all want to know what kind of system will be in place – is it going to be a spread, is going to be a pro-style system, is it going to be a West Coast system? Those are the kind of questions I'm getting," Thigpen said. "A quarterback who is a spread guy or a pro-style guy wants to know. Defensive guys want to know the same thing. Are you going to run the 3-4 or 4-3? They want to know the coach's philosophy. The questions are legitimate, but you can't really answer them right now. So I tell them, 'It's Auburn. Whoever they hire, it's going to be the best guy on the block.' It's going to be a Top 5 coach because it's a Top 5 program."

"Kids were hearing the rumors around the eighth or ninth game of the season," he said.

The Spanish Fort senior again confirmed his status as one of the Deep South's bests defensive back prospects in the 24-10 victory over St. Paul's in the Class 5A semifinals, making several big hits before his leaping interception with 3:48 remaining ended all hopes of a St. Paul's victory.

Cook committed to Bo Pellini's Nebraska program several months ago, and neither Alabama nor Auburn has extended a scholarship offer. Alabama has shown additional interest as the season has progressed, and Cook would likely prefer playing closer to home.

Alabama already has 19 verbal commitments, and several other national level recruits remain on the Crimson Tide's grown up wish list. Cook's one-on-one cover ability and 6-foot-1 frame make him perfect for Nick Saban's defensive scheme.

The recent ouster of Gene Chizik at Auburn leaves the entire Tigers' class in temporary limbo, and just about every program in the country - including Alabama - would love to poach Auburn High linebacker Reuben Foster, Muscle Shoals defensive lineman Dee Liner or Alpharetta, Ga., defensive lineman Carl Lawson.

Ja’Quay Williams, the former Sandy Creek standout committed to A&M over UGA and South Carolina on Sunday night.

Williams is a 6-foot-3, 200-pound wide receiver who signed with Auburn over UGA last year but did not meet NCAA entrance requirements. Williams is attending prep school this semester and hopes to enroll at Texas A&M in January.

“However, after looking at everything and taking my time to evaluate for now and into the future, Coach (Kevin Sumlin), his staff and the A&M program is where I need to be and where I am now committed 110 percent. I indicated so tonight! I have officially committed to Texas A&M.”

Obviously, working against UGA for Williams was the appeal to play with the leading contender for the Heisman Trophy, Texas A&M redshirt freshman QB Johnny Manziel...

A week of speculation about destinations ended Sunday evening when Ole Miss accepted an invitation to the BBVA Compass Bowl in Birmingham.

The Rebels, in a bowl game for the first time since 2009, will play Pittsburgh, which will be playing in its third consecutive Compass Bowl.

“It accelerates our journey, our process. It’s not only the extra practice, but the media attention, the national coverage of the game.

“We’re one of the teams in this tough conference still playing, and any time you can say that, you have to say the season has been somewhat a success, but in our case, coming off two seasons of limited wins … it expedites our message to the recruits we’re going after.”

Most of them want to know more about or meet Malzahn, or see whom he is going to hire as defensive assistants...

Carl Lawson, DE from Milton (ranked nation’s No. 2 overall prospect by ESPN): “Don’t have much information on him.”

AJ Jackson, TE from Lovejoy: “My coach told me, but I don’t really know who that guy is. I’ve never heard of him before, but I’m sure he’s good if Auburn hired him. They said he was the OC at Auburn a couple of years ago."

"It's 100 percent that I'll be at Auburn if Trooper Taylor stays on the staff," Jackson said.

Also, it remains to be seen how much of an impact Malzahn’s hiring will have on LB Trey Johnson, who de-committed from Auburn last week. “I think it could be a good fit for Auburn, as far as someone that they are familiar with,” said Johnson’s coach at Central Gwinnett. “But as far as Trey goes, it didn’t fire him up as much as the Kirby talk”

That was the case for Mississippi State football this weekend. The Bulldogs lost Copiah-Lincoln Community College wide receiver Devante Scott on Saturday, who flipped his commitment to UAB, only to add two Juco wide receivers a day later.

Scott was a relatively well-regarded prospect, but suffered a major knee injury and missed the majority of his sophomore year at Co-Lin.

On Sunday, MSU received commitments from East Mississippi Community College wide receiver Corey Smith and Tyler Junior College wide receiver Jeremy Chappelle.

Ricky Seals-Jones, the top prospect in the state of Texas and No. 13 nationally on the ESPN 150 list, announced Monday that he would sign with Texas A&M. The 6-5, 230-pound Seals-Jones could end up playing a number of different positions in college.

The Aggies have the largest class to date with 34 commitments. Texas A&M coach recently picked up a commitment from WR JaQuay Williams, who is at Fork Union Military Academy and was previously committed to Auburn. The Aggies also have commitments from receivers Derrick Griffin (Rosenberg, Texas), Kyrion Parker (Manvel, Texas), Quincy Adeboyejo (Cedar Hill, Texas) and Jeremy Tabuyo (Honolulu).

So in the 2013 recruiting class, any recruit that is a mid-year enrollee who begins taking classes in January (which is the 2012-13 academic year), can count toward the 2012 recruiting class.

Now the 25-member limit still exists for each year, so while a school can count recruits back to 2012, the number of players that signed letters of intent in February of 2012 and the number of mid-year enrollees that are "December graduates" who join for the spring 2013 semester must still equal no more than 25.

A&M signed 19 players to letters of intent in February 2012 but had four early enrollees in the class, three of which can be counted back to 2011, when the Aggies signed 22 players.

So taking that into consideration, that leaves spots for up to nine mid-term enrollees in the current recruiting class, meaning the Aggies could conceivably take 34 signees.

Taking it a step further, the Aggies had five early enrollees in the 2011 class. One of those could be counted back toward 2010, leaving room for one more spot in the 2011 class that the fourth 2012 early enrollee could fit in and give the Aggies a possibility of taking 35 signees in the class.

Included in his stops were UMS-Wright and St. Paul’s – home of 2014 top linebacker prospect Tre Williams.

“It was mostly a courtesy call,” St. Paul’s coach Steve Mask said. “He didn’t meet with any players. I think he just wanted to talk about what he wanted to do for Auburn and how he saw the Mobile area fitting into that.

“I told him I thought we played the best football in the state down here.”

Mask, who led the Saints to the Class 5A state semifinals in his first year as head coach, said Malzahn made a positive impression on him.

“I was very impressed to be honest that he took the time this early in his tenure to visit some high schools and try to build those relationships,” he said. “I think it says a lot for what he wants to do. I also think, with him being a former high school coach, he understands how important it is to build those relationships with high school coaches.”

He's a consensus four-star prospect as an athlete, a player with exceptional speed and enough game-breaking ability on the outside that he's playing receiver for Alabama at the 26th annual Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game in Montgomery this week.

But the new Auburn head coach -- Smith has been committed to the Tigers since July -- has only mentioned quarterback to the McGill-Toolen star so far.

"We talked about how I was going to fit into the offense, at the quarterback spot," Smith said.

Junior defensive back Draequan Murphy from Carver-Montgomery announced Wednesday that he has decommitted from Arkansas State and will look to try and earn a scholarship offer from Malzahn and his Auburn staff. Murphy's teammate, quarterback Jeremy Johnson, recently reaffirmed his commitment to the Tigers.

"I wanted to decommit because I wanted to play with Coach (Gus) Malzahn and since they left, I think I'll have a chance to play with Jeremy (Johnson) at Auburn again. I'll come out better playing with him in college. We connect," Murphy said.

Bama has reportedly picked up a commitment from four-star defensive back Jonathan Cook of Spanish Fort.

Alabama offered me and I committed to Coach Saban. This is the offer I've been waiting on my whole life. It's a dream come true to play for Alabama," said Cook in an interview with BamaOnline shortly after the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game.

The 6-foot, 183-pound star committed to Nebraska in August but had made it clear in recent interviews that a scholarship offer from either Alabama or Auburn could change his mind about that.

Cook is rated the No. 9 prospect in the state of Alabama and the No. 15 cornerback in the nation by 247Sports.